May Sarton-- The Work of Happiness

I thought of happiness, how it is woven
Out of the silence in the empty house each day
And how it is not sudden and it is not given
But is creation itself like the growth of a tree.
No one has seen it happen, but inside the bark
Another circle is growing in the expanding ring.
No one has heard the root go deeper in the dark,
But the tree is lifted by this inward work
And its plumes shine, and its leaves are glittering.

So happiness is woven out of the peace of hours
And strikes its roots deep in the house alone:
The old chest in the corner, cool waxed floors,
White curtains softly and continually blown
As the free air moves quietly about the room;
A shelf of books, a table, and the white-washed wall —
These are the dear familiar gods of home,
And here the work of faith can best be done,
The growing tree is green and musical.

For what is happiness but growth in peace,
The timeless sense of time when furniture
Has stood a life’s span in a single place,
And as the air moves, so the old dreams stir
The shining leaves of present happiness?
No one has heard thought or listened to a mind,
But where people have lived in inwardness
The air is charged with blessing and does bless;
Windows look out on mountains and the walls are kind.

Spontaneous Contemplation

I want you to ask yourself “What are your daily practices of which you may be unaware?”

Do your shoulders fold slightly forward?

Do you shift one hip upwards bringing imbalance to your lower spine?

Do you have a continuing drama playing in your head?

Do you sit, repeatedly crossing right leg over left, inhibiting flow to different parts of each leg?

We tend to think of practices as intentional & positive— things we choose to do that nourish.

That is true and I encourage those.

But in reality bad habits are nothing more than depleting practices of which we are unaware.

Pay attention— honor your being by eliminating negative postural patterns and draining mindsets that deplete.

Observe without judgment.

Recognize the inclinations and begin to shift away from the detrimental, and towards the nourishing.

It will take time— changes that hold usually do.

Slowly but surely bad habits fade and are replaced with intentional practices that honor and nourish.

You will feel uplifted.

The “whole” of you will rejoice!

I promise.

Be good to yourself…………………… Tricia


Take No Shit

Good Morning,

I grateful you are in this world— that you bring your vital energy to this experience that is life. And that I get to practice with you! I intend daily, to make living in love, integrity and authenticity a practice, just like coming to the mat. Some days I am more resistant than others, even unsuccessful, but I keep practicing. Moving through the backside of life has helped me to focus on what is important— love, compassion, gratitude and taking no shit. Is taking no shit worthy of being aligned with love compassion and gratitude? Absolutely. Taking no shit means valuing yourself enough to dissipate the farce someone is throwing your way. I would argue that calling people out is strength and shows care of self as much as exercising or making nutrition a priority. It also honors your voice, nourishing and balancing the throat chakra, clearing out energy that gets stuck in the narrow pathway between the heart and the mind. Don’t let truth get stuck in your throat. Freely release it with loving intention.

Love, stay strong, breathe deeply and speak your mind. You never know— it may just ease your neck pain :O

Tricia

Amanda Gorman's Inaugural Poem

When day comes we ask ourselves,

where can we find light in this never-ending shade?

The loss we carry,

a sea we must wade

We've braved the belly of the beast

We've learned that quiet isn't always peace

And the norms and notions

of what just is

Isn’t always just-ice

And yet the dawn is ours

before we knew it

Somehow we do it

Somehow we've weathered and witnessed

a nation that isn’t broken

but simply unfinished

We the successors of a country and a time

Where a skinny Black girl

descended from slaves and raised by a single mother

can dream of becoming president

only to find herself reciting for one

And yes we are far from polished

far from pristine

but that doesn’t mean we are

striving to form a union that is perfect

We are striving to forge a union with purpose

To compose a country committed to all cultures, colors, characters and

conditions of man

And so we lift our gazes not to what stands between us

but what stands before us

We close the divide because we know, to put our future first,

we must first put our differences aside

We lay down our arms

so we can reach out our arms

to one another

We seek harm to none and harmony for all

Let the globe, if nothing else, say this is true:

That even as we grieved, we grew

That even as we hurt, we hoped

That even as we tired, we tried

That we’ll forever be tied together, victorious

Not because we will never again know defeat

but because we will never again sow division

Scripture tells us to envision

that everyone shall sit under their own vine and fig tree

And no one shall make them afraid

If we’re to live up to our own time

Then victory won’t lie in the blade

But in all the bridges we’ve made

That is the promised glade

The hill we climb

If only we dare

It's because being American is more than a pride we inherit,

it’s the past we step into

and how we repair it

We’ve seen a force that would shatter our nation

rather than share it

Would destroy our country if it meant delaying democracy

And this effort very nearly succeeded

But while democracy can be periodically delayed

it can never be permanently defeated

In this truth

in this faith we trust

For while we have our eyes on the future

history has its eyes on us

This is the era of just redemption

We feared at its inception

We did not feel prepared to be the heirs

of such a terrifying hour

but within it we found the power

to author a new chapter

To offer hope and laughter to ourselves

So while once we asked,

how could we possibly prevail over catastrophe?

Now we assert

How could catastrophe possibly prevail over us?

We will not march back to what was

but move to what shall be

A country that is bruised but whole,

benevolent but bold,

fierce and free

We will not be turned around

or interrupted by intimidation

because we know our inaction and inertia

will be the inheritance of the next generation

Our blunders become their burdens

But one thing is certain:

If we merge mercy with might,

and might with right,

then love becomes our legacy

and change our children’s birthright

So let us leave behind a country

better than the one we were left with

Every breath from my bronze-pounded chest,

we will raise this wounded world into a wondrous one

We will rise from the gold-limbed hills of the west,

we will rise from the windswept northeast

where our forefathers first realized revolution

We will rise from the lake-rimmed cities of the midwestern states,

we will rise from the sunbaked south

We will rebuild, reconcile and recover

and every known nook of our nation and

every corner called our country,

our people diverse and beautiful will emerge,

battered and beautiful

When day comes we step out of the shade,

aflame and unafraid

The new dawn blooms as we free it

For there is always light,

if only we’re brave enough to see it

If only we’re brave enough to be it

You are good!

photo source: anon

You are good, just as you are in this moment.
Don’t be afraid to claim the beauty you feel in yourself right now.
Strengthen your body in the way that suits you.
Stay flexible physically & emotionally.
Breathe into your essence.
Love yourself and those who love you back.
And know— you are right where you need to be.

Tricia